It's a chilly morning in March the first time he sees her, bundled up against the cold in a bright purple jacket that would look ridiculous on anyone else.
On her though, it's just about the cutest fucking thing he's ever seen.
He's got three customers waiting for their coffee but he waits until she's out of sight before focusing and putting on a smile for the woman in front of him. Her annoyed expression turns to a slight blush as he asks her (and maybe he says it a little deeper than he needs to) what he can get for her. He's not above putting on the charm so his boss won't rag on his ass for slacking off on the job. He's just glad he's got a steady one, even if it is just pouring coffee in a tiny café.
His morning is busy and he doesn't even have a minute to think about the girl from earlier until he sits down for lunch. He knows he'll never see her again (NYC is a big fucking place) but he thinks about where she might have been going, what she was doing. What she was wearing underneath that hideous jacket. He only got a good look at her face for less than a minute but he can honestly say she's one of the hottest girls he's ever seen.
He knows he's not alone because he didn't miss the way the three old men that have coffee there every morning were watching as she passed too. He can't blame them. She was gorgeous.
He thinks it's a little ridiculous that its five hours later and he's still thinking about some random chick he barely saw for a minute.
This is New York City, where girls like that are a dime a dozen (he's lying, and he knows it) and he isn't hard up in that department anyways. He pulls in at least a number a day working here, usually more, and he's young and hot. He doesn't hurt for it, that's all he's saying.
So he chalks it up to 'never gonna happen' and throws the rest of his lunch in the trash before sending a quick text to his best friend telling him to meet at his place later for beer and pizza. Blaine texts him back asking if he wants him to pick up a DVD on the way and he responds with 'as long as it's not super gay' and he laughs because he knows that Blaine will know he's just fucking with him. He turns his phone back on silent before he ends his break because his boss is a bastard and hates that shit.
Blaine calls him on his next break and tells him just for that he's bringing Maid in Manhattan and Puck tells him to fuck off because no way in hell is that happening. He agrees to the new Transformers (of course he does, those movies kick ass) and Blaine tells him he'll see him in a few hours. Before his friend can hang up, Puck starts laughing.
"Hey, Blaine. Do you know how I know you're gay? You like the movie Maid in Manhattan!" He can practically hear Blaine roll his eyes when he says, "You've been waiting this whole conversation to say that haven't you?" and he just laughs when he hangs up the phone.
He doesn't think about the girl again until he's lying in bed that night, alone, with one hand wrapped around himself and her face in his head.
He's drinking a cup of coffee and bullshitting with Blaine on his lunch break when he stops talking and points out the window. Blaine looks at him confused and then looks to see what he's pointing at.
"Holy shit...that's her!" Blaine just gives him a blank look and Puck rolls his eyes. For someone that claims to be a 'great listener' his friend sure as hell doesn't seem to pay attention when he tells him shit. "The girl, from a couple of weeks ago. I told you about her, remember?"
"Puck, if I tried to remember every single girl you've ever talked to me about, I'd have no room in my brain for useful information." Puck just narrows his eyes but doesn't take them off the girl (wearing a bright orange coat now, who the fuck is this chick) as she walks quickly down the street. Blaine finally takes notice and nods his head in approval.
"She's very pretty." Puck rolls his eyes (and almost has to adjust his jeans) and watches as she rounds the corner and disappears out of his sight.
"Pretty? That girl is a fucking ten." Blaine sits quietly as he takes a sip from his latte and Puck fucking hates that because he knows that move. That's Blaine's "I want to tell you what you should do but I know you're just going to roll your eyes" move and right now he kinda just wants his best friend to tell him what to do. "Jesus, Blaine! Just fucking tell me!" His friend laughs as he sets down his cup and shakes his head.
"Puck, there's nothing you can do. Unless the next time you see her you flag her down and try to talk to her." He says it in a way that lets Puck know that's exactly what he thinks he should do and he rolls his eyes. See how well he knows him.
"I'm not that guy, Blaine. That's like romantic comedy shit, that's not me." Blaine scoffs, crosses his arms and leans back in his chair.
"First of all Noah, there is nothing wrong with romantic comedies. Second of all, the chance of you seeing her again is slim to none. This is a big city and the fact that you've seen her twice already is pretty surprising. I'm just saying, if you see her again, I wouldn't let the opportunity pass you by." He doesn't say anything, just checks his watch to see that his lunch hour is over and tells Blaine he's gotta get back to work. Blaine is just about to walk out the door when Puck calls his name.
"Let's be honest though, she's probably got a boyfriend. Girls that hot are never single." Blaine just smiles as he shrugs his shoulders and Puck groans as he lays his head on the counter in front of him.
Puck fucking loves his apartment. He's lived here since he moved to New York two years ago and even though it's a tiny studio, he loves every part of it.
From the exposed brick walls to his surprisingly big kitchen to the oversized HDTV he splurged on last summer. He's got all the sports channels and he always has beer in the fridge so his place is usually the hangout on the weekends for his group of friends.
And what a rag tag team of friends he's got but he loves every one of them.
Blaine is his best friend and he's known the guy since their freshman year of high school when some older kid tried to bully Blaine for being gay. Puck decked the dude in the face and told him never to fuck with Blaine again and from then on they were kinda inseparable. When Puck told him he wanted to move to New York after high school Blaine insisted that he needed to come too so they moved out here together.
They tried being roommates at first but Puck is a slob and Blaine got annoyed so now they just live in the same neighborhood. It works out better for everyone that way.
Santana Lopez and Mike Chang are his other two best friends even though he's only known them since he moved here. He met Santana through Blaine because they worked together and they fucked around for awhile but they were too much alike to actually date. She's the only ex he's ever stayed friends with. Mike is just a cool fucking guy he met at the gym and he's a professional backup dancer in music videos and stuff. Santana can be rude and loud and Mike is chill and quiet and somehow they are all really good friends.
He sends a mass text telling them all to go to his place Friday night and Blaine is already there when he gets off of work. He throws his jacket on the back of the couch and looks around for his friend.
"Honey, I'm home!" He hears Blaine's laugh in the kitchen and he smells something fucking delicious. "What is that smell and why in the hell doesn't my house smell like this always?" Blaine peeks around the corner and grins.
"Lemon pepper chicken, white rice and steamed vegetables." Puck rolls his eyes and throws his keys onto the kitchen table before grabbing a beer and passing one to Blaine.
"What are we, on a date?" Blaine laughs as he takes the beer from Puck.
"How many times do I have to tell you, Puck? You are so not my type." Puck just scoffs and takes a long pull from the bottle.
"Bullshit, I'm everyone's type."
"It's true Anderson. I've literally seen girls fall at this idiot's feet." They turn and see Santana walk in, long legs on display in a tiny pair of denim shorts. He might not be banging her anymore but Puck can still appreciate how fucking hot she is. "Where's my beer?"
Puck laughs and grabs another out of the fridge before looking around her.
"Where the hell is Chang?" Santana just shrugs as she pops the top off her bottle.
"How in the fuck should I know? Do I look like his handler? What smells so fucking good?" Blaine beams at her and Puck laughs because see? Just like him.
Mike comes in twenty minutes later and they sit down to eat Blaine's (fucking amazing) dinner. They are all laughing and talking when Blaine brings up the girl from the street.
"What girl?" He gives Santana a look because that sounded a lot like jealousy but she just rolls her eyes and shakes her head. Blaine answers for him though and leave it to him to make it sound like some romantic fucking story of star crossed lovers or some shit. It takes him almost ten minutes to tell them (which is fucking ridiculous because really, he's only seen the girl twice) and by the end Santana is calling him a pussy and Mike is just watching with an amused look on his face.
"It's not even a thing. I don't know why the fuck we're talking about this chick right now."
"Because you love her," Blaine says in a sing-song voice that makes Puck punch him lightly in the arm.
"Fuck off, all of you." They all laugh when Mike mutters "Hey!" because he's been the only person so far that hasn't busted Puck's balls about this girl.
He kinda (really) wishes he knew her name so he could stop thinking of her as this girl.
He sees her pass by the café three more times over the next month.
He feels like a pussy for thinking (again) that maybe he really should go out there and try to talk to her.
Then he thinks he might be afraid to do it and that pisses him off because he's not afraid to talk to girls.
Except for maybe this one.
The day he walks into the café and sees her sitting at a table with a pretty Asian girl he thinks he might be dreaming. He actually rubs his eyes with his palms to make sure he's not seeing things but nope, she's really there.
He is so stunned that he practically runs over an old lady as he makes his way behind the counter. She looks up and gives him a sweet smile when he apologizes so at least he's off the hook for that. He watches her smile and laugh with her friend but he feels like he's eavesdropping when he hears her mention someone named Sam.
Of course she has a boyfriend, just like he told Blaine.
And it's not that boyfriends are really a problem for him, because he's never been the guy to turn down sex with a girl just because she's got a guy waiting for her at home. She just doesn't seem like the kind of girl that would cheat and for some reason he actually likes that. He likes the view up close too because he can see that she's got all of this brown hair that is curled down her back and the sexiest eyes he's ever seen.
She's wearing skinny jeans and a light blue sweater that looks incredible against her olive skin and he can see her name written across her cup when she brings it to her lips. Rachel.
At least now he has a name to go with the face.
When she gets up to leave she catches his eye and gives him a shy smile and if this was any other chick he'd smirk and say something to get her to talk to him. He is at a complete loss for words though, and he barely has time to smile back before she and her friend are walking out of the café.
He just had his chance and he fucking blew it. He's such an idiot.